Stinger (cocktail)
| IBA Official Cocktail | |
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Stinger cocktail served over ice in a rocks glass.
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| Type | Cocktail |
| Primary alcohol by volume | |
| Served | Straight up; without ice |
| Standard drinkware |
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IBA specified ingredients 
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| Preparation | Pour in a mixing glass with ice, stir and strain into a cocktail glass. May also be served on rocks in a rocks glass. |
| Timing | After Dinner (Before Dinner) |
| Notes | It has been suggested that during the 1920s the Stinger ceased being an after-dinner cocktail, and instead should be consumed before dinner. However, the IBA continues to list the Stinger as an after-dinner cocktail. |
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Stinger recipe at International Bartenders Association
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A Stinger is a duo cocktail made by adding crème de menthe to brandy (although recipes vary). The cocktail's origins can be traced to the United States in the 1890s, and the beverage remained widely popular in America until the 1970s. It was seen as a drink of the upper class, and has had a somewhat wide cultural impact.
The Stinger originated about 1890. The cocktail may have been derived from The Judge, a cocktail made with brandy, crème de menthe, and simple syrup found in William Schmidt's 1892 cocktail book The Flowing Bowl. It was immediately popular in New York City, and quickly became known as a "society" drink (e.g., only for the upper-classes). According to bartender Jere Sullivan in his 1930 volume The Drinks of Yesteryear: A Mixology, the Stinger remained a critical component of the bartender's repertoire until Prohibition.
The Stinger was not initially seen as a cocktail (e.g., a drink served before dinner), but rather a digestif (after-dinner drink). Writing in the 1910s and 1920s, humorist Don Marquis's "Hermione" (a fictional daffy society do-gooder) refused to refer to the Stinger as a cocktail, indicating its status in upper-class society. Over time, however, the Stinger came to be consumed like a cocktail.
The Stinger was a popular drink during American Prohibition, for crème de menthe could mask the taste of the inferior-quality brandies then available. The Stinger began to lose favor with Americans in the late 1970s, and was not a well-known cocktail in the early 21st century.
The Stinger is a duo cocktail, in that it uses only two ingredients: a spirit and a liqueur. The classic Stinger recipe uses three parts brandy and one part white crème de menthe. However, Stinger recipes vary, and some recipes call for equal parts brandy and crème de menthe. The mixture was originally stirred, although modern recipes call for it to be shaken with cracked ice. Early recipes required that the Stinger be served straight, but since the end of Prohibition in the United States it became more common for it to be served over crushed ice.
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Wikipedia